Manufacturing Day offers career exploration opportunity

Sep 24, 2014 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY —  Eight local manufacturers will open their doors to 250 area high school students Oct. 3, as Traverse City marks Manufacturing Day for the first time.

Manufacturing Day is an annual national event designed to showcase the career opportunities modern manufacturing technology offers. Northwestern Michigan College is coordinating the local event in and around its Aero Park campus.

Students from Traverse City West, Traverse City Central, Traverse City High, the Manufacturing Technology Academy and TBAISD Career Tech Center will begin the day at NMC’s Parsons-Stulen Building. After brief opening remarks they will depart in groups to tour the participating site manufacturers, all neighbors to the Aero Park campus: Boride Engineered Abrasives, Clark Manufacturing, Kennametal, National Vacuum Equipment, R.M. Young Company, SMI Auto, Tool North and TranTek.

“There’s a wide variety of manufacturing across that gambit. I’m happy to see so many open up their doors on that day for students to take a look and see what’s done in northern Michigan,” said Cameron Fuller, vice president of Clark Manufacturing.

Clark hired 12 new machinists just this year. They joined a staff of more than 100. The company is a “job shop” that machines parts, primarily for energy sector customers. Fuller hopes the event retools the image of manufacturing in the minds of students and their parents.

“These are good-paying careers, right here locally,” he said.

Besides a less than ideal image, the manufacturing industry is also confronting an aging workforce and a skills gap in those who might seek to fill positions.

NMC is working to help fill this skills gap with events like Manufacturing Day as well as programs like Century University, a collaborative, on-the-job training program designed by NMC’s Training Services and Century Inc. for Century employees.

Established in 2012, Manufacturing Day seeks to expand knowledge about and improve the general public’s perception of manufacturing careers and the industry’s value to the U.S. economy. The Traverse City event is one of more than 1,100 planned around the nation.

Other sponsors are the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, Newton’s Road, an initiative of the regional Council of Governments that promotes STEM education, BATA, TCAPS, TBAISD and MTA. 

Release date: september 25, 2014

For more information:

Kennith Scott 
NMC Training Specialist
kscott@nmc.edu
(231) 995-2212

Third annual anti-bullying conference

Sep 23, 2014 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Registration is now open for the third annual Anti-Bullying Conference on Friday, Oct. 17, set to focus on student engagement and empowering students to create safe, inclusive school environments.

Offering sessions for both youth and adults, the one-day conference is appropriate for parents, helping professionals, high school student leaders and community members. The conference is presented by the northwest Michigan regional Anti-Bullying Task Force, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and NMC.

The focus of this year’s event is student engagement, including tracks on being an upstander and starting a Not In Our School (NIOS) campaign. An upstander is a person who speaks up or stands up to bullying and intolerance, either to prevent or intervene when someone is being harmed. A NIOS campaign is an ongoing commitment to empower students to create safe and inclusive environments that are free of bullying, harassment and all forms of intolerance

“We are thrilled to bring Not In Our School to Michigan. Their focus is on tolerance, acceptance and inclusion – which is part of our mission at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights,” said department Director Matt Wesaw. “This conference will bring together students, educators and experts to share best practices and respond with models to best serve our Michigan communities.”

Conference facilitators are from the national “Not In Our Town” organization, the parent of Not In Our Schools. Not In Our Town films, new media, and organizing tools help local leaders build vibrant, diverse cities and towns, where everyone can participate.

The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Hagerty Center on NMC’s Great Lakes Campus, 715 E. Front Street, Traverse City. Admission is free and lunch will be provided. To register for the conference, go to nmc.edu/antibullying.

The Anti-Bullying Task Force was formed in 2012 and has focused its efforts in the five-county northwest Michigan region, with an emphasis on improving school climate and helping vulnerable populations of all ages. Members are NMC, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, TBAISD, Michigan State Police, Child & Family Services/Third Level Crisis Center, Disability Network, Women’s Resource Center, Conflict Resolution Services, MSU Extension Office, Blackbird Arts, and TCAPS.

To learn more about MDCR, please visit www.michigan.gov/mdcr. NIOS materials can be viewed at http://www.niot.org/nios/.

Release date: September 24, 2014

For more information:

Lisa Thomas
Associate Dean of Student Life
lthomas@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1043